Fort Bliss Commanding General's Residence (Pershing House)
228 Sheridan Rd. Fort Bliss 915.534.0600
In January 1914, John Pershing arrived in El Paso to take command of the Army 8th Brigade that was stationed at Fort Bliss. At the time, the Mexican Revolution was in underway in Mexico, and the 8th Brigade had been assigned the task of securing the U.S.-Mexico border. In March 1915, under the command of General Frederick Funston, Pershing led the 8th Brigade on the failed 1916–1917 Punitive Expedition into Mexico in search of the outlaw Pancho Villa. General Pershing was assigned a 1915 Dodge Brothers touring car, serial number 3066. During this time, George S. Patton served as one of Pershing’s aides.
After a year at Fort Bliss, Pershing decided to arrange for his family to join him. The arrangements were almost complete when, on the morning of August 27, 1915, he received a telegram telling him of a fire in the Presidio of San Francisco. His wife and three young daughters had been burned to death; only his six-year-old son Warren had been saved.9 After the funerals at Lakeview Cemetery in Cheyenne, Wyoming, Pershing returned to Fort Bliss with his son, Warren, and his sister Mae, and resumed his duties as commanding officer.